San Francisco starting pitcher Kyler Harrison speaks with reporters after his short outing in the Giants’ 8-7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night at Oracle Park.
SAN DIEGO — Kyle Harrison always knew a September shutdown was possible, but it came a couple of weeks earlier than he anticipated.
The Giants put the rookie left-hander on the IL on Friday with left shoulder inflammation, and while they haven’t officially ruled out a return, the odds of that are about the same as their chances of reaching the postseason.
Harrison had an MRI that showed nothing but mild inflammation, but the Giants won’t take any chances with a young pitcher who was the best left-handed prospect in baseball coming into the year. It’s on to 2025.
Manager Bob Melvin said the inflammation bothered Harrison “off and on” during the season. It cropped up after he sprained his right ankle, which led to a slight change in mechanics and more pressure on his left arm. Harrison had been pushing through it, but there’s no need given the team’s situation.
“I think after the last outing, the next day it was bothering him enough,” Melvin said. “He tries to push through things — he’s a pretty tough kid — but after the last start we sat down with him and he admitted it was probably bothering him a bit more the last time, so therefore the IL.”
Harrison lasted just 2 2/3 innings on Tuesday and allowed six earned runs. His velocity was down, a theme at multiple points of the second half. Overall, his fastball dipped from 93.6 mph to 92.5 year over year.
Harrison will finish his first full season with a 4.56 ERA and 4.35 FIP, but the Giants see plenty of reasons to be encouraged. His walk rate is down significantly from his time in the minors, and while his fastball velocity has dropped, the characteristics of the pitch still made it well above-average overall.
